STI on Tandems

[Pete]

[?]The Thorn Tandem Brochure warns against the use of STI levers on drop bars if using a triple chainset. Has anyone got any personal experience of using modern 9 speed Ultegra STIs for such an application?  I use them on a solo with a 30/40/50 triple and it works fine.

[John]

I use Ultegra STIs with a 105 triple front mech and it works just fine - can't see the problem.

[wkb21]

I agree with the Thorn advice.  My experience:

1. If you use a big range of gears for long climbs touring, then you'll be shifting across big tooth differences on the chainrings.  With STI, changing down from big to small ring (especially middle to inner), the shift is quite a vigorous throw of the chain.  This tends to hurl the chain too far and drop it onto the bottom bracket.  Frustrating fine tuning is neeed to avoid this.  By contrast, with manual shift using a bar-end lever or downtube lever, you can gently coax the chain off the larger ring and drop it onto the smaller ring instead of launching into orbit with a spring loaded thump.  The result for me is better control and less frustration without STI.  This applies to a solo as well of course, but not so prone to trouble if you have a bigger inner ring.

2. With STI the stoker can't tell what gear he's in from the lever positions, and on a tandem he can't look down to find out.

3. Internal technical trouble with STI levers is doom for a tandem (or solo) on tour.  Bar ends are more manageable for repairs on the road.

4. I haven't suffered any frustration with bar end levers on a tandem despite regularly using STI on a solo.

[mrfish]

I felt I ought to register to dispel the hair shirted nonsense circulating here. STI / Ergopower is definitely the way to go. I am surprised the discussion hasn't moved on to Campag versus Shimano. Ergopower has many advantages for tandems.

My experience? I have lots of racing bikes with STI and Ergopower levers, also a Trek T2000 tandem with 9-speed Ultegra and a triple up front. I have been riding bikes for 20 years from 10 speed friction shifting to today's 20+ and have always done my own maintenance. I even lived in Bridgwater for 11 years!

Others' experience? US tandem builders usually offer the option of STI and sometimes campag. If you run over to bikeforums and select the tandem forum you will see lots of satisfied tandem STI users.

So in response to the previous post:
1)If you set up your front derailleur properly you will have no problem with changing up and down the front chainset. I agree that this is not always easy, but in my experience it's easier on the tandems because they generally have longer chainstays than road bikes, making it easier to avoid chain rub.

If you don't like the STI down-clunk, you need to defect to Campagnolo, where you control the downshift fully. And yes, 9 speed campag works fine with 9 speed shimano (or you can use a shiftmate) so you don't need to change the rest of your gear.

2) Why is it important for the stoker to know what gear they're in? It isn't, and anyway they can see the cogs like on any single bike. It is important for the captain to see what gear they're in. I use an in-line gear indicator on the right hand shifter to see what rear cog I'm in. It's totally idiot proof and much easier than looking down or guessing based on the angle of the bar end lever. Simple hillclimbing technique is then to get in the appropriate chainring to complete the hill before running out of cogs. No problemo.

With Campag you need to buy a Shimano in line gear indicator and put it nearer the stem as the cable is wrapped under the bar tape. This is another Campag advantage over bar end shifters since cables don't get tangled in your bar bag.

3) Yes STI lever breakage is a pain. However STIs very very rarely break nowadays. They were unreliable circa 15 years ago, but this is ancient history.

Second point is that global bike shop availability of replacement STI shifters is rather better than bar end shifters, or at a push you could either fit an alternative friction shifter or get an STI lever overnight fedexed so finishing the tour is only an issue if you're outside the range of bike shops and postal services where any breakdown would be terminal.

I think it's rather inconsistent position to take; load up your tandem with specialised hubs, rohloff gear systems and other crazy stuff, then complain that the shifter used by 90% of road cyclists doesn't work. Market-limiting nutiness in my view.

Final observation on point 3 is that Campag Ergopower shifters are repairable using a punch and 2x 4mm allen keys. They are quite simple inside. they are basically a down tube indexed shifter with two levers to prod the index shifter's rotating barrel round. Thus their only tour-ending failure point is the springs that hold the rotating barrel (look exactly the same springs as in a down tube indexed shifter). Take a spare set of these and you're set.

4) Agree it's not worth getting frustrated about one shifting system over another. You are after all on a bike and not in a car! However STI / Ergopower has many important advantages such as not needing to take hands off the bar to shift, less need to look down to shift. With Ergopower I like being able to click up a gear without moving my hands from the top of the bars (use little finger), and with STI I like being able to brake and downshift simultaneously at junctions.

Summary:
Ergopower and STI have many advantages over other forms of shifting. They are egronomically superior, reliable, widely available. Campagnolo in particular has some additional advantages. It has a more user-friendly downshift, tidier cables and is user-rebuildable. Speccing anything else on your new tandem is a mistake, and if I had the choice today I would go for Campag shifters with Shimano.